Outdoors Trade Show Wussies

Currently blogging from my tent at the Outdoors Trade Show.
Wouldn't you think that such an event would attract outdoors types that would like a bit of tenting?
Apparently not. I have a field to myself and the nearest other tent is more than 100 yds away.
Lightweights.

Anyhow there should be a few nice new products appearing on the site as a result of my visit.
I'll tell you what though, for an outdoors trade event there were far too many suits for my liking, plus there seemed to be a great deal of people on stands talking amongst themselves. Seems to me that when a guy is looking at products on your stand with a retailer lanyard you should interrupt your busy talking cobblers with your colleague schedule to talk to him. Just because he's a scruffy oik in combats, doesn't mean to say he doesn't mean business.
Not all exhibitors fell in to this category, but guess which ones I'm more likely to deal with......

Kelly Kettle Dimensions

Occasionally we are asked what the sizings are for the different Kelly Kettles, sometimes we get people asking to return their Kettle because it's too big/small!

So, the following are the approximate dimensions:
1pt unit:
145mm diameter x 260mm tall, handle peaks out approx. 5mm
1.75pt unit:
165mm diameter x 245mm tall, handle peaks out approx. 10mm
2.5pt unit
160mm diameter x 310mm tall, handle peaks out approx 15mm

3 Season Sleeping Bag

I have a load of 3 season (0C to +20C) sleeping bags made by Nanok for Tiso.

In the shop now for £35, bloody bargain given that Tiso are asking £50 for these!

Nanok Tent

Just taken delivery of some Nanok Dominus Duo tents in a post of slate grey colour. One has gone into my pickup for 'extended trials'! These are quite pricey normally but they'll be going at bargain price.

New stuff from Kelly Kettle

Just in today from the Kelly Kettle Company, the new 1.75 pint Kettle! People have had the dilemma of thinking the 1 pint a bit small and the 2.5 pinta bit big, could this be the Goldilocks solution?

Certainly I'm impressed by the newbie, it's a handy sorta size and I feel it might just be a bit more sturdy than the others - could just be my imagination mind.

Second new item from the guys at Kelly Kettle is the new cookset pack for the 1 pinter (the larger fits both the 2.5 and 1.75).

Both in stock now.

Tatonka Burners - Back In Stock!

The Tatonka Burners, stands and simmer rings are back in stock following a minor rush which resulted from British Red's review of them on the forums.

Tatonka Regular Cookset

Got a fair bit of new stuff in; including the Source Vagabond stuff, Surviva-Pure and some new tarps that I won't get a chance to load until next week I expect.

By accident however (misunderstanding about my order somewhere along the line) I have the Tatonka Regular Cookset.

These are pretty nice actually, the pots nest into each other and the pair sit in the pan. There's a drawstring bag to carry them in so they don't seperate inside your pack. I'm not sure how they'd perform over an open fire, the handles are protected by a rubber tubing. If this is silicone rubber (which it feels like) then they should be OK, certainly Tatonka claim these are good over an open fire and I don't suppose they would if they weren't.
One of these sets is finding it's way into my pack for my trip to the Outdoors Trade show!

John Fenna Reviews the Kelly Kettle

This review was first published in Sporting Shooter magazine and appears here courtesy of John Fenna.

KELLY KETTLE COMPANY

The Kelly Kettle has a long and glorious history of boiling water quickly and efficiently in the outdoors, in practically any weather, and is the “traditional kettle of West of Ireland fishermen”.

The kettle is basically a double-walled chimney of aluminium with water held between the walls. A small fire lit in the base and fed from down the chimney will boil the water in about 3-5 minutes (depending on the fuel used), the conical internal shape of the kettle giving a large surface area for efficient heat transfer and almost blast furnace efficiency in the burning of twigs, paper, leaves etc.

Once the water boils, carefully lift and pour, using the spout’s cork (for transport use
only) on its chain to tilt the kettle.
Kelly Kettles come in 2.5 pint capacity at around £42, and 1 pint capacity at around £37, and each comes with a drawstring bag and full instructions.

Also available is an accessory pack for the larger model, comprising a 2-piece grill, saucepan, frying pan and handle (which fit into the base of the kettle for storage) and
allowing you to do some more adventurous cooking with your Kelly Kettle.

The latest addition to the Kelly Kettle Range is a 2-part fold-flat cruciform pot stand that sits in the top of the kettle’s chimney (without over obstructing the feeding of fuel into the kettle) and allows you to cook as the kettle boils. The pot stand costs around £5.00 and is great for making (amongst other things) toast – if you use non-smoky fuel!

Stunningly simple, tough and efficient, these iconic pieces of outdoor kit are used worldwide to great effect. My advice is to go for the big kettle – everyone will want a brew!

My thanks to Mark Richardson of Lakeland Bushcraft Trading Ltd (http://www.lakelandbushcraft.co.uk/) for facilitating this review.

Brew-up Outtake

The bit you didn't see in the brewing up video! The bit where I get hot coffee on me hands!

Surviva-pure

Finally, we have the Web-tex surviva-pure gear in stock. We've been asking for them every time we ring Thatchreed since Noah was a lad.
Surviva-Pure

A walk in Lanthwaite Woods

Crummock Water with Melbreak in the background. Wildlife seen included a red squirrel, a brown trout and some trail hounds. We also saw an otter crossing the road near Cockermouth yesterday, the first time I've seen one in the wild. I just hope the next time I see it that it isn't roadkill.

Tatonka Tarp Colours

I'm sometimes asked what the difference is between Bazil and Cocoon so I thought a picture might paint a thousand words! Although that said the Cocoon (one on the bottom) is slightly more green than it seems in this pic...

Soldier is refused room at hotel

It is not my intention to wander in to the murky world of politics on this blog, but I think this bears an airing.
Soldier is refused room at hotel

A soldier home on leave after being injured in Afghanistan was refused a room by a hotel when he showed his military ID card at reception.
Corporal Tomos Stringer, 23, from Gwynedd, was visiting a wounded colleague in Surrey when he was turned away from the Metro Hotel in Woking.
He spent the night in his car after being told it was management policy not to accept military personnel

John Fenna Reviews the WebTex Compact Stove

Previously I mentioned that John Fenna had reviewed the WebTex Warrior Stove (it was the Compact, not the Field Stove that I thought). John has been kind enough to give permission for me to reproduce his review here. This article first appeared in Sporting Shooter.

The ideal stove for a quick brew-up in the field (and fresh made tea always tastes better than flask tea) needs to be small, lightweight and fast!

The Warrior Compact Stove from Web-Tex fits the bill nicely as it weighs only about 90gm, folds down into its plastic storage box to measure only about 5 x 5 x 11.5cm and yet is rated at 3000w – high powered and efficient heat!

Made from aluminium alloy and stainless steel, this compact stove has folding pot supports that fold out to 13cm diameter to support even biggish pans safely, a folding regulator handle, an integral (if rather small) wind shield on the burner and a screw fitting to attach the burner to almost any screw valve camping gas canister.

Fitted to a small butane/propane mix canister, the Compact Stove boiled 0.5litre of water from cold in a closed pot in just 3 minutes! Admittedly this was in dead calm conditions, but this is still good going.

Small, lightweight and fast, the Web-Tex Warrior Compact Stove fits into a pocket easily, makes a quick cuppa or hot snack in the field with minimum fuss, costs only around £15.95 and comes with full instructions.

You'll notice that we are a wee bit cheaper than that!

Brewing Up in the Woods

Me brewing up using a Kelly Kettle, Lifesaver Water Bottle and an Aerobie Coffee Press.
They say the camera adds ten pounds, I reckon there must have been at least 10 cameras on location! Strange how the young good looking svelte bloke I am has been transformed into a lardy old tosser on video. Must be something wrong with my camera!

View From The Afternoon

Not a bad spot for an afternoon cuppa. Some biscuits would be nice though. ;-)

Afternoon filming

Note to self - don't forget spare battery when out filming for the Blog! Hopefully I've enough 'in the can', if so I'll put the film of me brewing up in the woods in the next coupla days.